The Black Sheep
by Numbuh Phenon
Summary: Every family has one.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own Codename Kids Next Door.

* * *

"…And then I said, 'I don't care how good people think it is, I don't pay you to write the same rehashed article over and over! So either put down something original, or you'll be out of a job. How's that for a plot twist?'" Mr. McKenzie finished with an affirmative nod. The man lowered his eating utensil down, and scooped a decent spoon full of mashed potatoes. "I'm telling ya honey, these people just don't wanna put in any effort."

It was a normal, quiet evening within the McKenzie home as all four members sat at the long dinning table enjoy a rather peaceful meal. Young Harvey was slumped over on the table, idly poking at his mountain of peas with his fork. Rachel was enjoying her time off from her Supreme Leader duties by just nipping away at her beef tenderloin. And her mother only lightly nodded as her father went on about his day at his office; griping about some lazy writers in the staff.

"That's something dear," The brunette replied as she reached for a napkin to wipe at the corner of her mouth. "What happened to that Alex boy? I recall you saying he had some potential."

The blond man groaned. "Hard Truths magazine offered him a better salary. I know he's got a new kid to look out for, but who am I supposed to find to handle the Week in Review section now?"

"So bored." Harvey mumbled as he continued to poke at his dreaded vegetables. He didn't know why on Earth his sister loved to spend time at home with the family, everything was so dull. He could be out racking up his success streak so he could win some more awards, but no. Rachel was home, meaning he had to home as well. The small dirt blond let out another groan as he leaned away from the table. "Mom, can I be excused? Please?"

The woman looked over to her youngest child's plate, and frowned in disappoint when she noted he had eaten everything but his peas. "Harvey, you haven't even laid a finger on your vegetables." She scolded as she looked over to Rachel. A light smile appeared as she motioned to the girl. "Why can't you be like your sister and clean your plate?"

"Wha?" Harvey arched a brow and looked over to his sister's plate, only to do a double take in shock when he saw that it was spotless. He looked up at Rachel herself, but the girl only had her hands neatly folded on the table and smiled. The perfect picture of obedience, heck you could see the innocent halo over her head. "But, how did –"

"Hey mom," Rachel calmly interrupted before the boy could go on. She looked up to her mother, her coca orbs shining with mirth. "May I have dessert now?"

"Of course sweetie," the woman happily complied as she stood and picked up her own empty plate. She then walked behind her daughter to grab her's before retreating into the recesses of the kitchen. "I'll be right back."

"Great job of knocking out those greens, kiddo." Mr. McKenzie lightly praised as he himself stood up. "Well I gotta go get some work done, if you need me, I'll be upstairs in my study." Without another word, he retreated into the kitchen leaving his two children momentarily alone.

Harvey watched the door swing back and forth until it finally shut, then spared a suspicious glance to his smug looking sister. "How the heck did you do that? You don't like peas!"

"Goes back to an old saying I learned while working in Stealth Tactics." Rachel replied as her hands fled for the pouch of her orange sweater. "'Never eat that yucky green stuff," She then gently lifted up her hand, and in her palm was golden furred hamster. It's whiskers had bits of green here and there, and small creature rubbed it's belly with a content sigh. "Feed it to your hamster. It'll make them buff!" Deciding to spare her brother the pain of eating his greens, Rachel sat her hamster atop the table, and the pet immediately set course for Harvey's plate.

"Ew!" Harvey flinched back disgusted as the creature dove into his peas. Within seconds, the mountain of greens seemingly imploded as it was devoured from the inside. The peas vanished and all that was left on his plate was a burping female hamster. The boy scrunched up his face as he gagged. "That's just gross."

"You really ought to consider getting a personal hamster Harvey," Rachel advised as she reached under her chair. The girl popped back up holding an orange hamster ball within her grasp. Her pet perked up, and hopped back to its owner to jump within the device. Rachel sealed the ball, and lowered it to the floor to let her furry pet work off her meal. "They can be little lifesavers."

"Ugh, no thank you!" The dirt blond protested. "I'm not letting one of those rodents get near me. Their creepy little pink paws and their fur always smelling like they just used the bathroom."

"Suit yourself." Rachel shrugged the moment her mother reentered the room. The blonde child looked up to see what was on her platter, and she all but grinned when a decent sized slice of cheesecake was placed in front of her.

"There you go, Rachel." Her mother responded as the girl snatched up her fork. The older McKenzie looked over to her other child, and her face beamed with pride upon realizing it was also clear of food. "That's my little man, Harvey!" She reached down to ruffle his hair, then stopped short as she remembered his oddity. "Uh, permission to touch?"

"Granted." The boy nodded, and cheekily grinned as his mother awarded with affection for something he didn't even do. Major score. Once the woman retracted her hand, he gazed up at her. "Can I have dessert too?"

"I'll get right on." Mrs. McKenzie smiled as she prepared to head off back into the kitchen. She hummed a merry tune to herself, the brunette so enjoyed these little moments where her family was together. Family…wait.

How could she have forgotten?

"Oh I just remembered something!" Mrs. McKenzie spoke as she turned to her kids. Rachel was too far gone in her cheesecake to notice, and Harvey had returned to his slumped position as he waited for his own slice. "Your Aunt is going out of town for the week, so your cousin will be staying with us for a few days."

All activity came to a screeching halt as Mrs. McKenzie finished her sentence. Rachel paused mid-bite as her eyes widened, then girl lost her grip and her fork clinked to the table forgotten. Harvey slowly rose his head, his own orbs increasing to the size of saucers as well. He and his sister shared a nervous glance, and he looked up to his mother with a horrified expression. "C-Cousin _Eric_? Is…is coming _HERE_?"

"Yes," his mother smiled unknowingly. "In fact, he should be here sometime tonight."

"_Tonight_!" Rachel blurted out as fear crept into her gaze. No. Anyone but cousin Eric! She and Harvey shared another terrified look and it was then they knew they had to get out of there. ASA-NOW! The blonde girl suddenly shoved her plate of unfinished cheesecake away as she began making up excuses. "Um, sorry mom. B-But I don't think we'll be able to greet him!"

"…Oh?" The woman frowned as she crossed her arms under her breasts. A scolding expression appeared as she saw that her children were pulling the same old stunt they always pulled when Eric was coming for a visit. "And why is that?"

"We got really important Kids Next Door stuff to do!" Harvey added in as he racked his brain for a plausible way to get out of being trapped here with cousin Eric. "Yeah, REAL important stuff. New missions are coming in, paperwork to stamp, and uh, hey sis, don't we have that problem with the Teenz?" He urged on as his look begged for help.

"Oh yea-aah. Those darn Teen Ninjas!" Rachel enthusiastically nodded. "It's never off with those jerks, let me tell you. Always kid bashing and wild fights. So as you can probably guess, we're gonna be pretty much swamped!" She emphasized. She then let loose a fake sigh of disappointment as she prepared to get up with Harvey and leave. "Such a shame, and we were REALLY looking forward to seeing cousin Eric too. Guess that's how the cookie crumbles. So could ya tell him we said hi? Thanks a –"

"Not so fast young lady." Her mother rose a hand up causing both children to stay put. As she lowered her arm, she frowned disapprovingly. "I'm ashamed of you two, not wanting to even spend time with your cousin. Well I'm not having it!"

"But mom –"

"No buts! Family is more important then some silly club. You two are staying right here!"

Harvey looked about ready to cry. "But I don't wanna spend time with cousin Eric!"

"Harvey, mom's right." Rachel calmly spoke. The boy looked over to his sister, about to claim she had lost her blooming mind, but then his gaze trailed under the table and he spotted her hands making coded signals. His eyes filling with understanding, he braced himself and readied to take off. "We need to stop being selfish and welcome our dear cousin with open arms. He would do the same for us." She glanced up to read her mother's expression, and smiled to herself when she saw the woman dropping her guard. "We're sorry mother. We've learned our lesson and we'll never act out in such an impolite manner ever again – RUN FOR IT!"

Mrs. McKenzie jumped as her daughter bellowed out, and before she knew what was going on, the two sneaky children pushed away from the table and ran around it in separate directions, confusing the adult.

"What the?" The woman spun around, and noticed her children making a beeline for the door. Her eyes narrowed, and she suddenly broke out into a sprint. "No you don't!"

"We're almost there!" Harvey cheered as he and Rachel approached the door. "Ha ha! Goodbye Eric, hello…huh?" He mumbled confused as a shadow flew over them both. Right when they were at the door, their mother suddenly landed in front of them; effectively blocking their escape route. The two couldn't halt their momentum in time, and ran straight into the adult. But Mrs. McKenzie stood strong, so only Rachel and her brother were forced to fall to the ground. "Ow." Harvey moaned as he pushed a dazed Rachel off of him. He sat up and shook his head, but then looked up to his mother bewildered. "What the crud? H-How did –"

"Varsity cheerleading. I was known for most prep in my step." The brunette smirked before pushing her bangs out of her eyes and sending her children a scolding glare. "I've had it with both of you! I never thought I would have to do this, but you're not giving me much choice. You two are going to stay put in this house until Eric gets here, and if either of you tries to leave, you'll be finding a major change in schedule where your personal lives are concerned!"

Rachel blinked at how serious her parent sounded. "Mom, we just –"

"Not only will I ground you both from this Kids Next whatever you call it, but you'll also never be seeing cheesecake in this house again!" She threatened the girl, causing the blond to clamp her mouth shut. Her strict gaze them snapped to Harvey. "And as for you young man, if I find out you've disobeyed me, then you'll be spending the next two months worth of weekends at the retirement home with your Grandmother!"

Harvey paled at the thought. All those old people _touching_ him. He shivered uncontrollably. "Anything but that!"

Mrs. McKenzie huffed as she nodded her head. "Well, in that case, I'm going to go over the house a few times to make sure everything is nice and tidy for when your cousin arrives." The brunette then scurried off, her compulsions to kill every single little germ beginning to override her senses. But before she disappeared, she spared the two siblings one final glance. "And you two better still be here, or else!" With that said, she went off to find her cleaning supplies, everything suddenly felt so messy.

Once the adult had left them, the two McKenzies just stood there. Rachel ran a nervous hand through her sun tinted hair as she tried to think of what to do. But before she could think up a plan, Harvey began to break down.

"I can't take it sis." The dirt blond mumbled as he sunk down onto the floor. He crawled into a fetal position as his eyes filled with despair. "I-I can't take another visit from cousin Eric! Not after what happened last time." Both he and the girl flinched as they recalled what would forever be dubbed as the 'Swirling Cheese Grinder Incident'. "T-There was cheese, _everywhere_." He whispered in horror. Finally, he could take it no longer and leapt up and clutched onto his big sister for safety. "I'M NOT GOING THROUGH THAT AGAIN!"

"Harvey! Calm down!" Rachel comforted as she patted her brother's back. The blonde then stared out blankly as she tried to think of what to do. After looking down at her shaken sibling again, her eyes filled with burning determination as she made their plan of escape. "Don't worry, Harvey. I'll get us out of here if it's the last thing I do as Supreme Leader."

"But sis," Harvey looked up surprised. "What about all the stuff mom said?" His sister really did love cheesecake.

Rachel closed her eyes, and looked away. "Sacrifices have to be made." She then snapped back to Harvey as her fingers pointed up the stairs. "Go get whatever you can carry on you! We're going to be spending the next few weeks hiding out on the dark side of the moon where Eric can't find us! Go!" Without anymore pressing, Harvey rushed up the stairs as Rachel followed after. Once on the second floor, Harvey dove into his room while Rachel ran for hers.

In a hurry, the blonde violently kicked her door down and her hand fumbled around on the wall as she tried to find the light switch. As soon as she found it, she flicked it on and light illuminated her room. Her feet trampled across the light blue carpet and she leapt on her neatly made up bed. She stomped around and crumpled up her crimson bed spread without care as she made her way for the Doctor Time-Space and the Continuums poster hanging over her bedpost. Her fingers grasped the thin paper, and she ripped it off revealing what was hidden behind it.

A metal panel with a series of buttons made out of muffins greeted her. But out of all of them, she shifted her attention to the two near the bottom. Her hand hovered over a button labeled, 'Push in case of emergency', but she ignored it as she moved to the next one with text highlighted in bold letters. '**Push in case of Eric!**'.

"A, B, C, I don't care what letter of the alphabet you pick! Just get me a sector to get me outta here NOW!" She exclaimed as her fist slammed down, crushing the muffin and activating the distress beacon. The lights of her room blinked off, before switching back on in a hue of siren red. Rachel then breathed a sigh of relief as she sunk down to her bed. They would be saved!

"Sis!" She flicked her chocolate eyes over to the doorway as Harvey trudged in carrying a bugling, overstuffed backpack. Harvey glanced up to the lights before looking at his sister in surprise. "What did you do?"

"Activated a distress signal." Rachel smiled as she tucked her hands behind her head, now thinking she could relax. "As we speak, the computer is sending a distress call to every single Kids Next Door sector. We just have to wait for one to respond, and just see who gets here first." She replied, proud of her escape plan. "Yes, they should be here any second now…"

* * *

**two hours later.

* * *

**

"WHERE ARE THEY?" Rachel frantically growled as she paced around in the den. It had been a little over two hours since she initiated the distress call and not a single KND operatives had shown up. Not one! The blonde stopped to check her watch for the gazillionth time and had to fight off the urge to rip her hair out. "They should've been here by now!"

"That's what you said two hours ago!" Harvey snipped back before going back to fiddling his thumbs. "What if they ignored it? You know how lazy some sectors are!"

"It was a Super Ultra Mega Important Help Me Or We're All Gonna Die code distress signal! They'd get decommissioned for even thinking about ignoring that type of thing!" She then stopped to catch her breath after saying a mouthful. "And I seriously want to decommission the guy who thought up _that_ long of a name!"

"Sis," Harvey nervously uttered as he looked up to the clock. "Eric will be here any minute…"

"We'll we're not gonna be here!" Rachel proclaimed as she hefted up her small bag. "Forget the distress call! We're getting out of here even if we have to tear down the living room wall!"

_CRASH!_

"AAHH!" Both siblings screamed as something suddenly collided into their house. Plumes of dust rose, and they were both knocked over to the ground by the force of the crash. Rachel shakingly sat upwards as she coughed out the clogs of dust she had accidentally inhaled. "What…was that?"

Harvey waved his hand around as he tried to make out whatever suddenly blindsided their home. The dust began to settle, and his eyes widened as he made out the large mass across the room hanging out of the wall. "Uh, sis? I don't think you have to worry about tearing down the wall anymore."

The two blond children looked over bewildered as they made out a S.C.A.M.P.E.R lodged into their wall. The rescue shuttle left a gaping hole in the wall of their den, and crushed rubble and debris was piled up all around the front bumper; almost like it had been dragged against the ground. Then they surveyed the damage around it. Family pictures had been strewn about, broken shards of glass everywhere. The carpet looked as if it had been wrangled, and torn and multiple places, and their father's lounge chair had been crushed by the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. They could make out a bit of the fluff poking out from underneath the metal behemoth's belly.

For a while, the two just stared at. Stared at it until the pod bay doors hissed opened. After a moment, an operative stumbled out it. It was a tried, and drowsy Nigel dressed in white and red pajamas. The bald kid tried to adjust his sloppy shades, but only ended up making it worse. "We're Kids Next Door Sector V," The Brit mumbled out as his eyes drifted shut. "What is your problem?"

Upon seeing the bald boy, Harvey rolled his eyes. "Oh look sis, the computer _randomly_ picked Sector V to come and assist us." He retorted sarcastically. "What a _shock_."

"Oh, shut up." Nigel weakly growled back as he tried to fight off his sleepiness. He rose his S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R and let out his battle cry. "Kids Next – Ahhhhhh." He was interrupted by a long yawn. "Battle Stations." He mummered while smacking his lips. When he heard no one coming out behind him, he snapped his eyes open and glared back at the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. "I SAID Battle Stations!"

"WHO CARES?" An annoyed female voice spoke out from inside the ship. Kuki strolled out of the shuttle, dressed in a pink rainbow monkey nightgown with curlers in her hair. She carried a S.P.I.C.E.R in her hand, and a menacing scowl on her face. She began to vent while Nigel groaned into his hand. "_I said Battle Stations_! Oh happy day! I guess we all have to kneel and praise you now! Get over yourself!"

"Why don't _you_?" Hoagie grumbled as he followed out next. The pilot sported light blue sleeping attire with yellow Yipper faces painted all over across the clothing. His trademark aviator hat had been replaced by a matching sleeping cap, and his eyes were filled with exhaustion and agitation as he frowned at Kuki. "All you've done on the way over here is whine, whine, whine! _You idiots dragged me out of bed! You ruined my dream about rainbow monkey world! You're flying too slow! You're flying too fast! _Boo-hoo! We ALL don't wanna be up right now, but I guess we don't matter as long as the Queen gets to run her fat mouth!"

"_You_ wanna talk to me about _fat_? Look in a mirror tubby!"

"Zero, you two go get a room!" Abby moaned in discomfort as she dragged a snoozing Wally out of the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. The second-in-command wore her regular hat and navy blue navy gown. The only real difference was that her hair was wild and frizzy compared to her normal braided ponytail. Once out, she tossed Wally unsparingly to the floor, but the blond Aussie in an orange, full body sleeping jumpsuit could care less. He only mumbled in his sleep before cuddling up with his S.C.A.M.P.P. Abby rubbed at her heavy eyelids before glaring at her three teammates. "Numbuh 5 is not in the mood."

"Numbuh 5 also lacks the mental capacity to speak in first person!" Kuki insulted before turning to glare at her leader once more. "I swear, if I'm ugly and cranky in the morning because of this stupid late night mission I am going to kick your big butt all the way back to the UK!"

"Will then shut up so we can get it over with!" Nigel snipped before turning to frown at Rachel. "What's wrong?"

Rachel was stunned for a bit at seeing how Sector V was after dark, but then remembering the situation, she glared at the boy. "What took you so long? You were supposed to be here hours ago!"

"Well I'm SO sorry we live in a different time zone!" Nigel raged as he pointed east. "Do you have any idea of how late it is in Virginia right now?"

"Nu uh, Mr. Washington," The kids glanced over and watched as Wally mumbled to himself in his sleep. The blond let out something that sounded like a giggle before readjusting himself. "You can't use fuzzy bricks in hopscotch…"

Harvey rolled his eyes at the blond's comment before glaring at the wrecked S.C.A.M.P.E.R again. "Why did you nimrods crash right into our house? Our dad is going to kill us!"

"House?" Hoagie mumbled confused as he looked back to his ship. He then analyzed the living room around him and stroked his chin before glancing at the shuttle again. Then it suddenly hit him. "This isn't a landing zone!"

"Great observation, dipstick!" Kuki grumbled before glaring at Rachel. "Well? What do you want? Beauty tips? Because you sure look like you can use some."

The blonde's eyes widened before she narrowed them in spite. "If I had my Yield sign…"

"Can we sort this out later?" Harvey suddenly interrupted as he spared another glance to the clock. "Cousin Eric's gonna be here soon!"

"He he he," Wally began to mumble again. "You can't read…mph…my poker face…"

"Hold up." Abby rose her hand as she processed what Harvey said. "Who the heck is cousin Eric?"

"It's too embarrassing!" Harvey suddenly shouted out trying to lure attention away from the delicate subject. "It really doesn't matter! Now do your stupid jobs and get us out of here before he shows up!"

"Wait a minute." Nigel frowned as was able to think a bit to think more clearly. "You mean, you abused a distress signal and woke us up in the middle of the night just to come and pick you up before your cousin gets here?"

Rachel shamefully blushed at the bluntness of his statement. "Well when you say it like that –"

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Kuki snapped as the true purpose of the mission was revealed. She quickly leapt forward aiming to tackle and rip the McKenzie brother and sister to shreds, but her teammates were quicker, and all three of them managed to hold her back. "LEMME GO! LEMME GO SO I CAN BASH THEIR SKULLS IN!"

"Mmm, really? I feel the same way…" Wally began to mumble again, but this time a blush appeared. "Why of course I want ta go out with you…" A smile graced his lips as he hugged his S.C.A.M.P.P rifle. "…Mrs. Thompson…"

Sector V suddenly froze as they heard Wally speak his last dream. Nigel, Abby, and Hoagie slowly let go of Kuki who just stood there stunned by the information. "M-Mrs. Thompson?" She whispered out in shock. Her body began to quiver, and everyone stepped out of her way as she stalked over to the still sleeping Wally, completely unaware of how much crud he had just put himself in. "Mrs. _Thompson_?" Kuki repeated a bit more forcefully. Her fist clenched, and she felt her teeth grinding together. "You…Y-You…" The Asian snapped, and rose her hand up with fire in her gaze. "YOU SCOUNDREL!"

_SMACK!_

"GAH!" Wally yelped as Kuki's slap jarred him awake. He jumped up wild eyed with a large red imprint on his cheek, and he aimed his S.C.A.M.P.P around in an out of control manner. "WHAT? WHAT?" He then fired off a powerful shot, which knocked his tired body back down to the floor which caused him to fall into slumber once more. But the laser blast kept going. Kept going until it hit Hoagie square in the rear.

"YEOW!" The pilot yelped as he jumped into the air, his butt feeling like it was on fire. He ran around the room wildly, a smoke trail following behind. He kept blazing around until he accidentally bumped into a still reeling Kuki. He saw the girl turn and give him the eye of death, and gulped as she raised her hand for another slap. "Uh oh." Acting quickly, he ducked right at the last second, and the slap missed him,

_SMACK!_

But hit Abby instead. The spy looked appalled as her head was forced sideways, her cheek stinging. Kuki herself didn't even know what to make of what just happened, but it mattered not, for the mocha skinned girl slowly turned her gaze on the Asian before giving her a slap of her own. The rainbow monkey loving child gasped, before growling and preparing to continue the slap fest, but thankfully, Nigel came in between them before anymore blows could be traded.

"Will you two knock it off!" The Brit snarled out while holding them back. The two girls the glared at their leader, remembering it was he who woke them up in the first place. They shared a nod, and ended up slapping him down together. "GAH!"

"Hey!" Hoagie yelled as he ambled back over to the girls. "Don't you slap Numbuh 1!"

"Don't tell me who I can't slap!"

That was the final straw, and the four sleep deprived members of Sector V rose up and starting arguing with one another. And back with the McKenzie children, Harvey was busting a gut while Rachel was wondering how to put a stop to this.

"This is just too good!" The Sector W leader laughed to himself as he held his sides. "If I had a camera, I would SO put this on the internet! Quick! See if we can get them to start slapping each other again!"

"This is serious!" Rachel snapped on her younger brother before going back to chewing on her nails in worry. She had never meant for this to happen. "What am I going to do?" She needed to think of a way to stop this before they ended up resorting to physical violence again. But it was really hard to think with the dang doorbell ringing. Rachel groaned as the noise annoyed her. "Would someone get that?"

"I'll do it." Wally yawned as he stretched out, finally waking up somewhat. The blond Aussie scratched at his backside, and walked passed his arguing friends without a second glance as he went into the other room to answer the door. "And I was havin' the nicest dream too."

"Thank you, Numbuh 4." Rachel sighed. Now with that problem taken care of, she just needed to find a way to get Sector V to stop fighting long enough so they could get her and Harvey out of here before cousin Eric arrives…

Wait a minute.

"NUMBUH 4! WAIT!" Rachel screamed as she suddenly took off after the blond operative with her brother in tow. The four arguing kids fell silent as they heard the distress in their Supreme Leader's voice. Deciding to put their struggles on hold for now, they followed Rachel and Harvey to the front door.

"Numbuh 4!" Rachel yelled out as she, Harvey and Sector V slid into the room. She looked forward, and saw Wally. "Don't open the…" However, it was too late, for she could already see the wooden frame wide open and could make out a moving body behind Wally's stunned form. "…door."

"I don't flipping believe it." Wally uttered out in shock as he backed up to rest of his team. His eyes where filled with disbelief, and soon the rest of his team shared the same look. He rose a shaking finger and pointed at the kid in the doorway. They would know the kid anywhere. The braces. The dorky glasses. The suspenders.

It was none other than,

"NUMBUH 13?"

"Oh, hi guys!" Greeted the famous Klutz of Sector N in his nasally voice. The jinx of the KND walked into the door, and closed it shut behind him. He then noticed Rachel and Harvey, and smiled as he waved at them as well. "Hi cousins!"

Both children slumped, fighting off the urge to cry embarrassing tears. They sighed, and responded in unison. "Hi cousin Eric." Someone shoot them. Someone shoot them both right now.

Hoagie's jaw dropped to the floor. "Whoa whoa whoa! Numbuh 13? _You're _cousin Eric?" He then pointed to Rachel and Harvey who were both wishing they were someone else. "You're _related_ to Numbuhs 362 and 363?"

"You betcha!" The operative cheered as he swung his fist out. He then adjusted his bent glasses as he gushed. "Pretty neat? I'm related to the Supreme Leader!"

"No please," Rachel mumbled as she covered her face. "Please, NEVER say that sentence again."

Abby raised both of her brows in shock. "Related to the Supreme Leader. Uh, wouldn't someone like _you _be, I don't know, inclined to tell someone about that? Ya know, get some respect?"

"Well gee, dontcha think that's kinda personal?" Eric questioned with an unsure gaze. "But still, I would love to tell somebody, but cousin Rachel ordered me not to. And you know a Kids Next Door operative must ALWAYS obey the Supreme Leader." He then took a step forward, him unknowingly about to trip over his untied shoelaces. "Though I wonder why – WAAH!" He screamed as he fell and scraped his knee against he carpet. "OW! With the scraping, and the burn, and the DISCOMFORT!"

Nigel blinked as he put it all together. He then turned to Rachel who was was still slumped over. "You mean to tell me you're related to Numbuh 13. Numbuh 13 is your cousin?" The blonde slowly nodded. There was a tense silence, before the five Sector V kids busted out laughing. "AH HA HA HA HA! T-THAT'S…PFFT AH HA HA HA HA!"

Kuki and Abby leaned against each other for support as they mirthfully poked fun at the McKenzie kids' expense. "Oh that's rich!" Kuki giggled as her apparent crankiness was washed away. "T-That's too much! AH HA HA HA!"

Abby slapped her knees as she tried to remember that she needed to breathe. "N-No wonder she got stuck as Supreme Leader, the jinx is heredity! Heh heh heh heh!"

Hoagie and Wally held it other up as they both shouted their reply together. "IT MUST RUN IN THE FAMILY! HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

Eric became confused as to why the members of Sector V started crawling around the floor laughing. But after a while, he found himself snorting with laughter himself. "I…I guess that IS kinda funny."

"K-Kinda funny he says!" Nigel crackled as he suddenly fell over on the floor. "Ha ha ha ha! O-oh, I can't bret-he-he he HA HA HA HA!"

Harvey sent a glowering glare towards Sector V and his cousin who was chuckling a bit over near the door. His expression then became dry. "I hate you all."

"I can't believe this." Rachel mumbled forlornly to herself. She was stuck her with cousin Eric and Sector V had found out her embarrassing family secret. "What else can go wrong?"

"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY LIVING ROOM!"

All children froze as an adult voice boomed throughout the entire household. Sector V and Eric stomped away and Rachel and Harvey gulped as they recognized the voice of their father. He apparently just saw the S.C.A.M.P.E.R lodged in the den. The two children felt a shadow envelop them, and they slowly turned to see the livid face of the Man of the McKenzie house.

Crud.

"HARVEY KENNETH MCKENZIE! RACHEL…uh…" He paused in his extreme scolding as he leaned back into the doorway. "Honey? What does the 'T' stand for?"

"I don't know dear," The voice of Mrs. McKenzie answered from somewhere. "I was on a _lot_ of pethidine at the time."

The man blinked before turning back to his children. "Well, WHATEVER YOUR MIDDLE NAME IS MCKENZIE! YOU TWO ARE IN BIG TROUBLE!" He then sharply pointed towards the living. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING RAMMED INTO MY WALL?"

Rachel looked down to her pale brother, then glared back at Sector V. "Well?" She hissed expectantly. The S.C.A.M.P.E.R was all their fault after all. They needed to take responsibility for it! "Care to tell my dad _exactly _why there's a S.C.A.M.P.E.R decorating our living room, Numbuh 1?"

"Uhhh," Nigel gulped as all attention was suddenly on him. Thinking quickly, he pressed a hand to his ear as if he heard something. "Oh hey! I think I hear my girlfriend calling, gotta go!"

"Nigel," Rachel growled out, causing him to freeze. The blonde's left eye began to twitch as her fists clenched. "I AM your girlfriend!"

"What's that, honey? Little Nemo needs my help?" Suddenly he poised for the window, and immediately jumped out of it. "AWAY!"

There was no word to describe Rachel's exact expression at that moment. Just a cross between blind fury and extreme disbelief. The girl then turned her withering glare towards the second-in-command which caused Abby to nervously chuckle as well.

"Um, oh! That reminds me!" Abby falsely exclaimed. "Numbuh 5's sista's got this, uh, teen play thing, that she needs to go to!" She made out as she hiked her leg over the open window Nigel jumped out of. "Sooo…later!"

Hoagie watched Abby retreat, and suddenly made up his own excuse as he and Kuki back towards the window. "Yeah! Tommy…AND Mushi are in it too!" He replied, covered for both himself and Kuki. The Asian nervously smiled from outside the house and Hoagie shifted his eyes as he backed out of it. "It's, uh, a school mash-up, Disney sorta thing and…Buh-bye!"

Wally watched as his friends ran off, then looked back to see everyone either glaring, or staring at him. He nervously grinned as his foot trailed across the floor. "Yeah me too! I gotta do something with my brother that's…uh…not here!" Without warning he turned to a still closed window, then suddenly jumped through it, breaking it and adding more property damage.

Rachel and Harvey couldn't believe how this all turned out and turned to face their frowning father. "Well?"

The two children didn't know what to say. Suddenly they flinched as two hands clasped their shoulders, and they looked up between them to see Eric offering them a sympathetic look. "Wow. Talk about bad luck, huh?"

* * *

**Buh-bye now!**


End file.
